James Graham s This House
Can we talk about British theatre as being markedly, inveterately and institutionally left-liberal? And if so, is that a problem? A few stray comments in Nicholas Hytner’s Start the Week interview with Andrew Marr on Radio 4 saw Hytner batting away the idea that theatre was a special case in this regard. They had me thinking that it was time to reheat this old chestnut, as the shaken theatre world contemplates the year ahead.
Two things at least are now certain. One is that theatrical activity will proceed apace, emboldened by the prospect that the vaccines herald the eventual departure of social distancing and the return of the playhouses in their old convivial, cheek-by-jowl condition. The second is that Brexit is a reality, and both country and Conservative party will enter a new era. The resurgence of theatre coincides with a political reset.